Tauplitz Alm

 We took the toll road to the Tauplitz Plateau today.

 It is a region with six lakes and lots of skiing in the winter time. 

 During the summer, the cows have their summer retreat there. 

 We hiked along the lakes and from lodge to lodge. 

 A little snooze in the sun was nice after lunch. 

 This lodge was built in 1503. Now you can rent it for a vacation. 

Some dumplings for dinner were great. 

Ödensee and Fischerhütte

 We circled Ödensee today and ....

 ... checked out the trouts. 

 Then we met with my Uncle Leo and Aunt Traude and their friends...

 ... to eat some fishes. 

 Thomas had a huge yeast dumpling as dessert...

... and was very happy!

On our way to Bad Aussee

 On our way to Bad Aussee we stopped at the mountain retreat of Lilo and Karlheinz...

 ... and enjoyed a wonderful lunch with a bomb-shaped dessert.

 We arrived late at Bad Aussee and had a wonderful view of the Loser Mountain.

 The next day we walked/ran around Lake Alt Aussee.

 Final destination: Seewiese! Lunch, saussage and strudel. 

 We could have taken the half-hourly ship back but...

 .. took the narrow path back to our starting point. 

Brussels

 On our last day in Brussels we paid a visit to Mr. Marat.

 He is bigger than we thought. 

 Still very pale for a blood-thirsty revolutionary.

 We saw some Rubens sketches.

 and the Money Changer and his Wife by Quentin Massys (1514)...

 with the reflection of the customer in the little mirror below,...

... and half a Frans Hals Family Portrait,

but that's another story.

Our last waffle in Belgium and we went home. 

Antwerp

 We went to Antwerp to find our path to Rubens. 

 It was hot and we had some libation. 

 The canals were beautiful. 

 Some of the court yards are great. 

 On the Big Market Square are the guild houses and 

 the statue of the young Roman soldier who defeated the Giant who 

cut the hands off sailors who would not pay his toll and threw them into the river; 

hence the name "Antwerpen" - 

"ant" = "hand" and "werpen" = "throw". 

 Then we went to the house of Rubens. 

 He lived in great luxury....

 ... and style. 

 His studio is still filled with paintings. 

 This is a beautiful madonna (ca. 1380) in the cathedral,...

 where we also find Rubens's "Elevation of the Cross,"...

 ...the "Deposition from the Cross,"...

and the Antwerp meridian. We were there at the right time.  

    A short walk and train ride brought us back to Brussels....

... and a great dinner among friends at a Bavarian restaurant. 

Thank you for a great stay in Belgium!

Louvain

 We went to Louvain and climbed the tower of the library. 

 Large parts of the town were destroyed during the wars, 

 but the Large Beguinate is still around. 

 Beguines were women who decided to enter a religious community without taking vows. 

 The ladies experienced a lack of candidates for marriage because of the crusades...

 ... but were wealthy enough to group together. 

 They lived in nice quarters...

 ...and devoted most of their lives to charity.

 What is so extraordinary is that the buildings are still around today. 

 Today the University of Louvain took over these buildings.